Best Baldur's Gate 3 Sorcerer Subclass: Wild Magic, Draconic Bloodline, or Storm Sorcery

Publish date: 2021-04-04

Sorcerers are one of the most versatile classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 because they can use their signature “Metamagic” mechanic to imbue their spells with additional properties. Unfortunately, building a Sorcerer won’t be easy for most new Baldur’s Gate 3 players because each of the Sorcerer’s available subclasses offers a radically different Sorcerous experience. A Sorcerer is defined by the flavor of arcane power flowing through their veins, and knowing what that power can do is critical to building the best Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3.

All of Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerous Origins Explained

There are three Sorcerous Origins to pick from in Baldur’s Gate 3. Each attunes your Sorcerer to a different font of powerful magic and comes with unique starting abilities that reflect that magic. This small collection of talents will blossom into a lush tree of abilities as you gain XP and grow in levels.

Wild Magic Sorcerous Origin

The blood of a Wild Magic Sorcerer is saturated with a primordial form of magic older than the universe itself, and its abilities reflect that magic’s innate instability. The primary gimmick of Wild Magic Sorcerers is their Wild Magic Surge ability, which makes them susceptible to unleashing a random magical effect whenever they cast a spell.

While some of Wild Magic Surge’s magical effects can be helpful in certain situations, they’re almost always a frustrating inconvenience at best or a potentially-lethal development at worst. As a result, we only recommend the Wild Magic Sorcerous Origin for players who want to see what kind of mischief they can get into with Wild Magic.

Here are the abilities your Wild Magic Sorcerer will get as they level up.

Level 1: Wild Magic Surge – (Passive) – Casting a Spell will randomly trigger a Wild Magic Surge
- Wild Magic Surge Effects
  - Summon Mephit – Summons a hostile Mephit.
  - Enlarge/Reduce – Each creature within nine meters is randomly Enlarged or Reduced.
  - Telekinesis – You can use Telekinesis without expending a spell slot.
  - Fog – Create a six-meter cloud of mist around yourself. Creatures within are Heavily Obscured and Blinded. Lasts for three turns.
  - Polymorph – You are transformed into a random animal for two turns. A Sheep is the most common result.
  - Speak with Animals – Gain the ability to understand and communicate with animals. It lasts until you take a Long Rest.
  - Teleport – You can use a bonus action to teleport up to nine meters.
  - Wild Shape – Each creature within nine meters is randomly transformed into a cat or a dog.
Level 1: Tides of Chaos (Reaction) – Allows you to re-roll an Attack Role, Ability check, or Saving Throw.
Level 6 – Bend Luck (Reaction)- Allows you to inflict a 1d4 penalty on another creature when they make a
Level 11 – Controlled Chaos – (Passive) -If enemies cast a spell on or at you, they may trigger a Wild Magic Surge that affects them and their allies.

Draconic Bloodline Sorcerous Origin

A Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer is the mortal descendent of a mighty dragon, and they have inherited their ancestor’s hardiness and affinity for the elements. A Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer’s abilities give them an additional level of survivability that other Sorcerers lack, so long as the player is willing to invest in Constitution and Dexterity.

Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers also gain the ability to deal additional damage when using spells that inflict the type of elemental damage tied to their draconic progenitor and resist oncoming damage of the same kind. On top of that, they can fly at later levels, making them one of the best classes in the game for offense, defense, and navigation.

Here is the road of progression for a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer.

Level 1 – Draconic Ancestry (Passive) – Choose one of ten Dragons as your ancestor. This decides which elemental damage will be influenced by Elemental affinity and gives you a specific spell for free.
- Draconic Ancestor Options and Spells
  - Red Dragon (Fire) – Burning Hands
  - Black Dragon (Acid) – Grease
  - Blue Dragon (Lightning) – Which Bolt
  - White Dragon (Cold) – Armor of Agathys
  - Green Dragon (Poison) – Ray of Sickness
  - Gold Dragon (Fire) – Disguise Self
  - Silver Dragon (Cold) – Feather Fall
  - Bronze Dragon (Lightning) – Fog Cloud
  - Copper (Acid) – Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
  - Brass (Fire) – Sleep
Level 1 – Draconic Resilience: Hit Points (Passive) – Your Hit Point maximum increases by one every time you level up.
Level 1 – Draconic Resilience: Armor Class (Passive) – Dragon-like scales cover parts of your body, increasing your base AC to 13 when unarmored.
Level 6 – Elemental Affinity Damage (Passive) – Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage of the type associated with your draconic ancestor, you add your Charisma bonus to the overall damage.
Level 6 Elemental Affinity Resistance (Passive) – When you cast a spell that deals damage of the type associated with your draconic ancestry, you can spend one Sorcery Point to gain Resistance to that damage type.
Level 11 – Fly (Action) – You can fly to a target within eighteen meters.

Storm Sorcery Sorcerous Origin

The elemental fury of storms flows through the veins of Storm Sorcery Sorcerers, and this connection allows them to harness the power of the wind and weather. Storm Sorcery Sorers gain the ability to glide through the air and strike their enemies down with lightning bolts generated by storms of the player’s creation.

While Storm Sorcery does give a Sorcerer some excellent mobility options, its hyper-fixation on giving players the ability to inflict additional Lightning and Thunder damage doesn’t make up for the Socrerer’s natural frailty the same way the Draconic Bloodline Sorcerous Origin does.

Here’s everything you’ll get as you level up as a Storm Sorcery Sorcerer.

Level 1: Tempestuous Magic (Bonus Action) – After you cast a Level 1 spell or higher, you can Fly as a Bonus action until the end of your turn without receiving Opportunity Attacks.
Level 6 – Heart of the Storm (Passive) – When you cast a spell of Level 1 or higher that deals Lightning or Thunder damage, you cause a small, local storm. All enemies within six meters take three Lightning damage or three Thunder damage.
Level 6 – Heart of the Storm: Resistance (Passive) – You resist Lightning and Thunder damage.
Level 11- Storm’s Fury (Passive) – When a melee attack hits you, you deal eleven Lightning damage to the attacker, potentially pushing them away.

Best Sorcerous Origin in Baldur’s Gate 3

We can confidently choose Draconic Bloodline as the best Sorcerous Origin in Baldur’s Gate 3 after careful consideration. In fact, there was nothing else to consider. The Draconic Bloodline Sorcerous Origin allows players to tap into the raw destructive potential of the Sorcerer right away by enabling them to deal additional damage to spells of a specific elemental type. Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers are also much more durable than their kin since their Sorcerous Origin allows them to gain HP when they level up and have a higher AC than most spellcasting classes.

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